Selena Gomez + ‘Spring Breakers’ Earn Rave Reviews

Selena Gomez took a major risk in appearing in the edgy Harmony Korine flick ‘Spring Breakers,’ a far cry from her usually squeaky clean image. But it’s a risk that came with a major reward.

Hollywood Life reports that the early reviews for the film, which won’t be out until 2013, are pretty stellar. A preview of the movie was released at the Cannes Film Festival and rated well with critics.

One reviewer tweeted, “The best thing I’ve seen so far in Cannes: the outdoor movie Harmony Korine, Spring Breakers, alongside Tarantino movie. Harm is back!” Another wrote, “We saw a few minutes. Struck me see Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens in such extreme scenes for the film from Korine.”

What can we expect from the movie? One viewer hinted at some really unexpected material. “The craziest movie of 2013? To be a Harmony Korine movie with theft, lesbian scenes, and punk. And James Franco with gold teeth.”

Gomez plays a bad girl in the role, which didn’t necessarily come easily for her. “I’d never smoked a cigarette before in my entire life,” she said of her chain smoking character, Faith. “It was really funny — they had to show me how to do it.” She also had a bit of difficulty pretending to be drunk. “She goes on spring break with her girlfriends and they end up getting into a whole mess of things. They’re partying and drinking. We end up in jail.”

Sel has described the film as a “crazy experience,” but in a good way. “I was getting kind of repetitive in terms of the roles I was picking, and I really wanted to do something that was completely different.”